Recent advances in technology have vastly increased the number of available options within personal computers (PCs), interactive television (ITV) systems, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular telephones, and other information systems. For instance, current ITV systems offer hundreds of broadcast channels and a variety of interactive options, including e-mail, videoconferencing, instant messaging, online banking, online purchasing, and so forth.
Many current television systems employ multi-tuner receivers that allow such utilities as picture-in-picture viewing and digital video recording. However, the user of such a television system often employs only one of the tuners in order to view a program, thereby leaving one or more additional tuners unused. When the user subsequently changes channels, the user often experiences latency associated with tuning to the new channel, thereby delaying user viewing of the selected programming.